Apparatus and method for distributing fibrous and like materials upon a blending surface



March 13, 1956 J. H. SENIOR ETAL 2,737,691

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DISTRIBUTING FIBROUS AND LIKE MATERIALS UPON A BLENDING SURFACE Filed May 13, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Mmh 13, 1956 J. H. SENIOR ETAL APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DISTRIBUTING FIBROUS AND LIKE MATERIALS UPON A BLENDING SURFACE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 13, 1953 2,73 7,691 Patent ed Mar. 13, 1 956 John H. Senior, Philadelphia, and

Cheltenham, Pa., assignors tol'roctor & $chwartz, lino, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application May 13, 19 53, Serial No. 35?,756 13 Claims. (Cl. 12-146) John W. Bowischill,

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus' for blending different types of fibrous and like materials, and more layers of materials on a blending surface in accordance with predetermined proportions.

The prior method for blending dilferent types of fibrous materials by mechanical or other automatic meansconsists of depositing the materials on the fioor of a storage bin or other enclosed receptacle from a single longitudinal distributor of the roller distributor typerunning the length of the bin. The distributor is operable to discharge the materials at closely spaced intervals along its length, but since the material accumulates in the center of the distributor, the layers deposited on the floorof the bin are of greater thickness in the areaof the floor which underlies the longitudinal center line of thedistributor than along the longitudinal edgesfthereof. In addition, the material has a tendency toaccumulate at one end of the bin and whensuccessive layers are'deposited in superimposed relation, the laminated material is piled higher at one end as well as along' the longitu dinal center line of the bin. As a result, while the blend is relatively uniform throughout the bin, the dispersion of the blend and the utilization of the blending area is not completely satisfactory. I

In addition to improper utilization of the blending area, the prior method may blend economically"only it" the given quantity of material util'izes'theentire surface area of the bin floor. Since the bins are"permanent structures and since the distributing conveyor is designefdj for specified bin dimensions, it is not feasible to alter the size of the bin to'acco'tntnodate dilferefithuantities blended materials. As a result, the bins normally are dimensioned to accommodate large batchesofjmaterial A further object of the present invention is to provide apparatus which deposits material ona blending surface in consecutive layers which are relatively uniform in of the room,

thickness and dispersion throughout the blendi g area. underlying the apparatus. I Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus susceptible of automatic "control to re; ate'dlyjtr" erse a'given area and simultaneouslydeposit'the transversely and longitudinally; until a 'predeter'm' quantity of the materials comprising'thel blend has deposited.

present invention is p to provide A further object of the V blending apparatus having a high degree 'foperati flexibility which permits utilization'ofasurfacecorr spending in size to the quantity' of'ma'terial in the batch to be biendedso that'the' remaining surface is nearer to 10,000 pounds,"and when smaller methodf for d stributing particularly for depositing successive 9 a blending room.

- the material is directed 12 of the rootnand.

I States Letters Patent, No. 2,360,583 issued ,lIllO chutes i5. disposed at spaced receive the material use in other blending operations or even for non-blending purposes.

*More specifically, the invention contemplates a novel apparatus which conveys and discharges the material to be blended both longitudinally and transversely of the surface area so that each layer of material on the blending surface is uniform in thickness.

These and other objects of the invention and the various features and details of the construction and operation thereof are more fully set forth hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a blending room equipped with apparatus made in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged elevational view of a portion of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig 6 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Fig. 2 illustrating a modified form of the present invention; and,

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig.6. Y

' in accordance with the present invention, the fibrous materials to be blended are distributed evenly in successive layers on a blending surface, preferably the floor of To this end, a distributor is arranged to traverse the length of the room and to distribute the materials transversely of the room during its longitudinal travel. A conveyor system is provided to feed the mater'ial to the distributor during its longitudinal travel, and intothe conveyor system from a ceiling condenser which is fed by an air duct disposed below the ceiling. Preferably several distributors are provided whichare spaced transversely of the room and are supplied hy'individual conveyor systems and conggs t "Referring now to the drawings, the fibrous or like material which is to be blended on the floor it) ofa blending room 9 is fed from a supply (not shown) by a plurality of suction ducts 11 disposed adjacent the ceiling leading to ceiling condensers 13. The condensers maybe of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent, No; 2,452,427 issuedOctober 26, 19 48." ln 'adddition to sucking the material from the supply, the condenser also removes broken particles of fibre, dirt, and other foreign matter from the material.

'E'ach" condenser 13 discharges the fibrous material ontoone end of a conveyor system 14 disposed longitudinallyof 'the'rooin as illustrated in Fig. 1. Each conveyor system may be of the type-described in the United October 17, 1944, and, as seen in Figs. 1 and 3, comprises a series of apron conveyors arranged and operable so that by successively reversing the conveyor aprons, the material received from the condenserlfi is discharged successively intervals longitudinally as described more fully hereinafter.

Todepos it' the material on the floor 1Q transversely of the room, a distributor it). travels longitudinally of the room and, registers'suecessiveiy with the chutes 15 to discharged from the conveyor :lf-l.

The distributor lo'is in the United States Patent to Senior, No. 2,433,79tldated December 3011947, and is provided with counter-rotating auxiliary aprons 23,23. H

receive the material ffomthe'chutes 15' and deposit it on similar to the apparatus disclosed In the present instance, the distribi it'or 16 comprisesthe auxiliary aprons ZS, 23 which a feed apron 22 which delivers it to a train of rolls which rotate uni-directionally, for example, counterclockwise, as seen in Fig. 2. The rolls carry the material away from the apron transversely of the room and spread it evenly across the upper surfaces of the rolls in the train. When the material is thus spread over the entire train of rolls, alternate rolls are rotated counter-directionally, in the present instance clockwise, to discharge the material between adjacent rolls onto the floor of the blending room. Accordingly, the material is distributed evenly below the rolls to provide a layer of material on the floor which is of uniform thickness across its width.

In accordance with the invention, the distributor 16 is traversed longitudinally of the room 9 to provide an even distribution of the material over the entire surface area of the floor 10. To this end, the distributor 16 is supported in spaced relation to the floor of the room on suit able guide means, in the present instance, rails 17. The distributor is supported on the rails by rollers 18, one of which is positively driven as indicated at 19 in Fig. 2. The drive 19 is operable to traverse the distributor 16 longitudinally of the room so as to bring it into successive registration with the chutes 15. It should be noted that the auxiliary aprons 23, 23 extend a distance corresponding to the length of the individual apron conveyors in the conveyor system 14 so that as one apron passes out of registration with one of the chutes 15, the other apron will pass into registration with the next adjacent chute.

Control means is provided to rotate the individual apron conveyors of the conveyor system 14 in the proper direction to discharge the material through each chute 15, onto the auxiliary aprons 23 of the distributor 16. For example, when the distributor is at the left hand end of the room, the first apron of the conveyor system 14 is rotated clockwise as seen in Fig. 3 and the second apron is rotated counterclockwise to thereby deliver the material from the outlet of the condenser into the first chute between the first and second aprons. As the distributor passes out of registration with the first chute, the first apron is continued in its clockwise rotation, but the second apron is reversed to rotate clockwise, and the third apron is rotated counterclockwise to deliver the material from the condenser into the second chute which in turn directs the material onto one of the auxiliary aprons of the distributor which is now in registration with the second chute. This operation is repeated as the distributor travels under the successive chutes. Therefore, as the distributor 16 travels from the left hand end of the room as seen in Fig. l towards the right, it will pick up the material successively from the chutes and distribute it transversely of the room. When the distribututor reaches the right hand end of the room, electronic or other means, which need not be described in detail, is provided to reverse the drive 19 to cause the distributor to travel back to the left. In its reverse travel, the distributor again receives material from the chutes 15 and distributes it upon the floor 10 so as to form uniform layers of material thereon in both its forward and rearward traverse.

lt will be noted that as the distributor travels under the chutes 15, the material is deposited in the center of the feed apron 22 of the distributor by the auxiliary aprons 23. Spreader fingers (not shown) may be provided to spread the material across the width of the apron 22. A modified form of the invention is illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 wherein a single apron 25 replaces the counterrotating aprons 23, 23. As seen in Fig. 7, the apron 25 extends outwardly from the center of the distributor 16 a distance corresponding to the length of the individual aprons of the conveyor system 14 so that as the distributor travels under the chutes 15, the apron 25 will pass into registration with each chute 15 as it passes out of registration with the preceding chute 15. Thus, it will pick up the material successively from the chutes 15 and distribute it to the center to the feed apron 22 where, if desired, it

may be spread across the width by spreader fingers (not shown).

As seen in Fig. 1, there are a plurality of distributors disposed for movement in adjacent parallel paths longitudinally of the room 9. Each distributor in the present instance is fed from a single condenser 13 and duct 11 and is operable to spread a uniform layer of material over the floor of the room underlying the path of the distributor. The present invention affords a wide flexibility in the blending operation, in that the area of the floor used for blending each batch of material may be limited to the smallest space required for blending the desired quantity of material. For example, it is possible to use any number of the distributors and furthermore, control means may be provided to limit the traverse of each distributor so that it will deposit the material on only a limited portion of the length of the floor surface under lying the path of the distributor. The control means may comprise limit switches on the rails 17 or any other control mechanism. No matter how small an area is used, the present apparatus deposits a uniform layer of material across the given area, and when successive layers are built up over that area, a uniform blend is provided throughout.

A convenient arrangement for the blending room is that illustrated in the drawings wherein an intermediate floor or catwalk 25 is provided on a level with the conveyor systems 14. The chutes 15, therefore, penetrate through the floor or catwalk 25 and deliver the material to the distributor 16 which is disposed immediately below the structure 25. All of the operating mechanism, is, therefore, readily accessible for repair and adjustment to regulate the area upon which the material is blended. It is readily seen that the present invention provides a higher degree of operational flexibility than in previous blending apparatus and in addition, affords a superior blending of the material because of the simultaneous longitudinal and transverse depositing of the fibres on the floor of the blending room.

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described, it is not intended to limit the invention to such disclosure, and changes and modifications may be made therein and thereto within the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for distributing material in a uniform layer over a blending surface comprising feed means for the material, a conveyor system disposed longitudinally above said blending surface receiving the material from said feed means and operable to discharge the material successively at spaced intervals longitudinally of the conveyor system, and a distributor disposed transversely of said blending surface partially underlying said conveyor system and being movable longitudinally of said system to receive said material as it is discharged successively from said system, said distributor being operable to advance the material transversely outward from said conveyor system and distribute the material uniformly transversely of the blending surface.

2. Apparatus for distributing fibrous material in a uniform layer over a blending surface comprising feed means for the material, a conveyor system disposed longitudinally above said blending surface receiving the material from said feed means and operable to advance the material from said feed means longitudinally of the surface and to discharge the material successively at spaced intervals longitudinally of the conveyor system, and a distributor disposed transversely of said blending surface underlying said conveyor system and extending transversely outwardly from said conveyor system and being operable to advance the material transversely outward from said conveyor system and deposit the material uniformly transversely of said blending surface, means to move said distributor continuously in a path longitudinally of said surface in spaced relation thereabove, and means to guide and support said distributor for movement in the path to thereby effect distribution of the material longitudinally of the surface.

3. Apparatus for distributing fibrous material in a uniform layer over a blending surface comprising feedmeans for the material, a condenser receiving the material from said feed means, a conveyor system disposed longitudinally above said blending surface receiving the material from said condenser and operable to advance the material from said condenser longitudinally of the surface and to discharge the material successively at spaced intervals longitudinally'of the conveyor system, and a distributor disposed transversely of said blending surface underlying said conveyor system and extending transversely out.- wardly from said conveyor system and being operable to advance the material transversely outward from said conveyor system and deposit the material uniformly transversely of said blending surface, means to move said distributor continuously in a path longitudinally of said surface in spaced relation thereabove, and means to guide and support said distributor for movement in the path to thereby effect distribution of the material both transversely and'longitudinally of the surface.

4. Apparatus for distributing fibrous material in a uniform layer over a blending surface comprising feed means for the material, a condenser receiving the materialfrom said feed means, a conveyor system disposed longitudinally above said blending surface receiving the material from said condenser and operable to advance the material from said condenser longitudinally of the surface and to discharge the material successively at spaced intervals longitudinally of the conveyor system, and a distributor disposed transversely of said blending surface, said distributor comprising feeding means underlying said conveyor system to receive the material discharged therefrom, and a train of rolls extending transversely outwardly from said conveyor system operable to rotate uni-directionally to advance the material from said conveyor system across the upper surface of said train of rolls, and means to reverse alternate rolls in said train to discharge the material from said train between adjacent rollsth'ereof and deposit it uniformly transversely of the blending surface, means to move said distributor continuously in a path longitudinally of said surface in spaced relation thereabove, and means to guide and'support said distributor for movement in the path to thereby effect distribution of the material both transversely and longitudinally of the surface.

5. Apparatus for distributing fibrous material in a uniform layer over a blending surface comprising feed means for the material, a condenser receiving the material from said feed means, a conveyor system disposed longitudinally above said blending surface receiving the material from said condenser, said conveyor system comprising a series of aligned apron conveyors operable to rotate unidirectionally to advance the material from said condenser, and means to successively reverse the rotation of each said apron conveyor to discharge the material between each apron conveyor and the preceding apron conveyor, to thereby discharge the material successively at spaced intervals longitudinally of the conveyor system, and a distributor disposed transversely of said blending surface, having one end underlying said conveyor system to receive the material discharged therefrom and extending transversely outwardly from said conveyor system, said distributor being operable to advance the material transversely outward from said conveyor system and discharge the material uniformly transversely of said blending surface, means to move said distributor continuously in a path longitudinally of said surface in spaced relation thereabove, and means to guide and support said distributor for movement in the path to thereby effect distribution of the material both transversely longitudinally of the surface.

6. Apparatus for distributing fibrous material in a uniform layer over a blending surface comprising feed means for the material, a condenser receiving the material from said feed means, a conveyor system disposed longitudinally above said blending surface receiving the material from said condenser, said conveyor system comprising a series of aligned apron conveyors operable to rotate unidirectionally to advance the material from said condenser, and means to successively reverse the rotation of each said apron conveyor to discharge the material between each apron conveyor and the preceding apron conveyor, to thereby discharge the material successively at spaced intervals longitudinally of the conveyor system, a distributor disposed transversely of said blending surface, said distributor comprising feeding means underlying said conveyor system to receive the material discharged therefrom,

' and a train of rolls extending transversely outwardly from said conveyor system operable to rotate uni-directionally to advance the material from said conveyor system across the upper surface of said train of rolls, and means to reverse alternate rolls in said train to discharge the ma terial from said train between adjacent rolls thereof, and deposit it uniformly transversely of the blending surface, means to move said distributor continuously in a path longitudinally of said surface in spaced relation thereabove, and means to guide and support said distributor for movement in the path to thereby effect distribution of the material both transversely and longitudinally of the surface.

7. Apparatus for distributing fibrous material in anniform layer over a blending surface comprising feed means for the material, a condenser receiving the material from said feed means, a conveyor system disposed longitudinally above said blending surface receiving the material from said condenser, said conveyor system comprising a series of aligned apron conveyors operable to rotate unidirectionally to advance the material from said condenser, and means to successively reverse the rotation of each said apron conveyor to discharge the material between said reversely rotating apron conveyor and the preceding apron conveyor to thereby discharge the material successively at spaced intervals longitudinally of the conveyor system. a distributor disposed transversely of said blending surface, said distributor comprising feeding means underlying said conveyor system, auxiliary conveyor means disposed intermediate said conveyor system and said feeding means operable to receive the material from the Com veyor system and to deposit it upon said feeding means, and a train of rolls extending transversely outwardly from said conveyor system operable to rotate uni-directionally to advance the material from said conveyor system across the upper surface of said train of rolls, and means to reverse alternate rolls in said train to discharge the material from said train between adjacent rolls thereof and deposit it uniformly transversely of the blending surface, means to move said distributor continuously in a path longitudinally of said surface in spaced relation thereabove, and means to guide and support said distributor for movement in the path to thereby effect distribution of the material both transversely and longitudinally of the surface.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said auxiliary conveyor means comprises a pair of counterrotating aligned apron conveyors disposed longitudinally of said conveyor system, each extending from a point overlying feeding means outwardly beyond the edge of said feeding means and operable to convey the material inwardly to deposit it upon said feeding means.

9. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said auxiliary conveyor means comprises a single apron disposed longitudinally of said conveyor system extending from a point overlying said feeding means outwardly beyond the edge of said feeding means and operable to convey the material inwardly to deposit it upon said feeding means.

10. In apparatus for distributing material in uniform layers over at least a preselected Zone of a blending surface, feed means for the material at one edge of said blending surface, distributor means movable longitudinally along said one edge of said blending surface and extending laterally therefrom over a portion of said blending surface, said distributor means being operable to receive material from the feed means at said one edge, advance the material outwardly from said one edge, and distribute the same in a uniform layer upon the underlying portion of said blending surface, and mechanism operable to position the distributor means selectively along the length of said one edge of the blending surface to distribute a uniform layer of the material over at least one other portion of the blending surface thereby to distribute a uniform layer of the material over a preselected zone of the blending surface.

11. In apparatus for distributing material in uniform layers over at least a preselected zone of a blending surface, feed means for the material at one edge of said blending surface, distributor means movable longitudinally along said one edge of said blending surface and extending laterally therefrom over a portion of said blending surface, said distributor means being operable to receive material from the feed means at said one edge, advance the material outwardly from said one edge, and distribute the same in a uniform layer upon the underlying portion of said blending surface, mechanism operable to position the distributor means selectively along the length of said one edge of the blending surface to distribute a uniform layer of the material over at least one other portion of the blending surface thereby to distribute a uniform layer of the material over a preselected zone of the blending surface, and means associated with said feed means operable to deliver material to said distributor means during movement thereof from one position to another along said one edge of the blending surface.

12. In apparatus for distributing material in uniform layers over at least a preselected zone of a blending surface, feed means for the material at one corner of said surface, conveyor means overlying a portion of the blending surface along one edge thereof and operable to receive material from said feed means and convey the same along said one edge of the blending surface, distributor means movable longitudinally along said conveyor means and extending laterally therefrom over a portion of said blending surface, said distributor means being operable to receive material from the conveyor means, advance the material transversely outward from said conveyor means, and distribute the same in a uniform layer upon the underlying portion of said blending surface, and mechanism operable to position the distributor means selectively along the length of said conveyor means to distribute a uniform layer of the material over at least one other portion of the blending surface, thereby to distribute a uniform layer of the material over a preselected zone of the blending surface.

13. In apparatus for distributing material in uniform layers over at least a preselected zone of a blending surface, feed means for the material at one corner of said surface, conveyor means overlying a portion of the blending surface along one edge thereof and operable to receive material from said feed means and convey the same along said one edge of the blending surface, distributor means movable longitudinally along said conveyor means and extending laterally therefrom over a portion of said blending surface, said distributor means being operable to receive material from the conveyor means, advance the material transversely outward from said conveyor means, and distribute the same in a uniform layer upon the underlying portion of said blending surface, mechanism operable to position the distributor means selectively along the length of said conveyor means to distribute a uniform layer of the material over at least one other portion of the blending surface, thereby to distribute a uniform layer of the material over a preselected zone of the blending surface, and mechanism associated with said conveyor means operable to deliver material to said distributor means during movement thereof from one position to another along said conveyor means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,433,790 Senior Dec. 30, 1947 2,467,291 Brelsford et al Apr. 12, 1949 2,594,590 Runton Apr. 29, 1952 2,662,250 Schweizer Dec. 15, 1953 2,665,453 Senior et a1. Jan. 12, 1954 2,696,331 Fahrni Dec. 7, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 403,582 Great Britain Dec. 28, 1933 

1. APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING MATERIAL IN A UNIFORM LAYER OVER A BLENDING SURFACE COMPRISING FEED MEANS FOR THE MATERIAL, A CONVEYOR SYSTEM DISPOSED LONGITUDINALLY ABOVE SAID BLENDING SURFACE RECEIVING THE MATERIAL FROM SAID FEED MEANS AND OPERABLE TO DISCHARGE THE MATERIAL SUCCESSIVELY AT SPACED INTERVALS LONGITUDINALLY OF THE CONVEYOR SYSTEM, AND A DISTRIBUTOR DISPOSED TRANSVERSELY OF SAID BLENDING SURFACE PARTIALLY UNDERLYING SAID CONVEYOR SYSTEM AND BEING MOVABLE LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID SYSTEM TO RECEIVE SAID MATERIAL AS IT IS DISCHARGED SUCCESSIVELY FROM SAID SYSTEM, SAID DISTRIBUTOR BEING OPERABLE TO ADVANCE THE MATERIAL TRANSVERSELY OUTWARD FROM SAID CONVEYOR SYSTEM AND DISTRIBUTE THE MATERIAL UNIFORMLY TRANSVERSELY OF THE BLENDING SURFACE. 